This invention concerns bottled water dispensing systems in general and also bottled water dispensing systems equipped to supply carbonated water derived from a bottled water source.
Bottled water dispensers of the type which are in common current use in the United States employ an inverted bottle, the neck of which extends into a reservoir which is housed in the body of the dispenser. This reservoir may or may not be provided with means for chilling the water. This arrangement is inherently unsanitary due to contact between the exterior neck and top of the bottle and the water in the reservoir. The bottled water consumer is advised to clean the top of the bottle before inverting it, but this is rarely done to a sufficient extent.
Furthermore, the principle of operation of inverted-bottle-type dispensers requires that air enter the space between the mouth of the inverted bottle and the top of the water level in the reservoir. Airborne microbes and small particulate matter can enter the drinking water system each time the bottle demands air and "glugs." This has prompted devices which filter or limit the pathway of the air entering the system.
Current dispenser systems typically do not provide the kind of seal necessary to eliminate contamination of the system from spillage of liquid on top of the bottle. Such liquid can come from a variety of sources including overwatering of plants placed on top of the inverted bottle. The liquid can then run down the sidewalls of the bottle and into the system. Similarly, certain animals, such as parrots, have been known to light on top of the bottle and contaminate conventional systems by urinating on top of the bottle.
Conventional bottled water dispensing systems also have two additional drawbacks: first, they require that the consumer or installer lift and invert a heavy bottle; second, conventional systems often require more space than that which is available in today's kitchen.
Carbonated beverage dispensing systems need to dispense carbonated liquid at very close to freezing temperatures in order to retain high levels of carbonation in the dispensed liquid. In this regard, carbonated beverage dispensing systems using bottled water sources have presented special engineering challenges because of the desirability of using the thermal storage characteristics of ice banks while still maintaining compact size and existing electromechanical packaging. Carbonated beverage dispensing systems which use bottled water sources have also employed refrigeration controls which can be both ambient temperature and altitude sensitive. These sensitivities can cause differences in the amount or even presence of ice in the unit which can directly affect drink dispensing temperature, carbonation level and drink making capacity. The adjustment required to compensate for different altitude and ambient temperature environments constitutes a further drawback to the use of conventional bottled water temperature controls. Although conventional controls may be adjustable, such a system introduces an interface between user or installer which requires judgment or training and constitutes a sales negative.
Furthermore, some known carbonator configurations include carbonator vessels wrapped with refrigeration coils (see, for example, FIG. 8 in pending application Ser. No. 068,017). It is often desirable to operate the evaporator at a subfreezing temperature in such systems. Naturally, this makes such a system prone to freezing of the fluid in the carbonator. Further, level sensors having moving parts to control supply pumps can present operating problems. It may be necessary to adjust the evaporator temperature used in production of such systems slightly higher in order to avoid the possibility of icing up the carbonator. This translates to a dispensing temperature which is marginally higher with concomitant reduction in carbonation level during dispensing.